My sister-in-law belongs to a church with a beautiful iris bed of pinks and purples out front. The problem is that it is totally overrun with poison ivy this year. Most of the folks are older and she is highly allergic. Is there anything that will kill the poison ivy but not the irises? I hate to see the whole bed dug up and not replanted due to the poison ivy.

Round-up if you are careful to spray only on the poison ivy. I suggest thick rubber gloves to clear some of the ivy away, so then you can spray the sections of ivy that go to the roots. Poison ivy loves disturbed ground, so loves creeping into gardens.

I sprayed a "poison Ivy" only killer spray (in a green container) and it killed the "Indian Hills" clump next to the ivy.

Janie -- I've found that five-gallon buckets, turned upside down over the Iris plants, protects them while the poison ivy is exposed and able to be sprayed.

good idea!

Goats. If you have a friend with a mini, they can be tied in the area for a while and the poison ivy will disappear - down to the roots. There may be some iris damage, but iris is second choice on the list.

Never heard of that before! Might bring some interest or new members to tie a goat in front of the church!!
My son used to have a mini goat but had to give him to a farm when he kept jumping the fence.

We have the goat squad here in Charlotte, NC. Though about it, but I live too residential. Just a tad tacky for the suburban setting. They ear basically only the crap plants and goat manure is a grrreat natural fertilizer. Plus theyre just fun to watch

If you end up using the gloves to pull some out make sure you do not touch the working side of them-the oils remain! I have used plastic bags for such tasks, pulling up the ivy into the bag and turning it inside out and tying it, all without ever touching the plant. Not nice when your fingertips are spread an inch apart and fingers do not bend because of the blisters.
Of course the goats are safer if available.

I guess you would have to make sure not to let the goat lick you or rub on you after their foray into the ivy. The oils could stay in their fur like it does on gloves and clothes.

That's the truth!! I've picked up mild infection from my horses.............